Women's Basketball: Rasheed looks to go pro after Princeton

Senior guard Niveen Rasheed of the women’s basketball team has accumulated many honors throughout her four years as a Tiger and has become one of the most decorated players in Ivy League women’s basketball history. She hopes to extend that impressive career beyond NCAA competition in the weeks to come as she looks forward to the WNBA draft and anticipates the opportunity to play professionally in some capacity.

Since Rasheed came to Princeton, the women’s basketball program has won four straight Ivy League titles and qualified for the NCAA tournament every year, despite never having been to the tournament before. Rasheed has played a large part in turning the program into an NCAA tournament competitor, and she recently became just the third Ivy Leaguer to become an AP All-America Honorable Mention honoree.

“Basketball was a huge part of my coming to Princeton, and knowing that I got the best kind of education and had the opportunity to play for a top-tier basketball team was the best of both worlds, which I didn’t know was possible coming in freshman year,” Rasheed said. “I didn’t know what to expect, so being able to help contribute to make this team a nationally known program is amazing, and I’m very proud of that accomplishment.”

"Niveen has been an instrumental part of our program since the first day she arrived on campus,” head coach Courtney Banghart said. “She plays the game with relentless effort, a fierce competitive spirit, versatility on both sides of the ball, always with a winning mentality and with the humility of a great champion. She has done things the right way, and we’re so appreciative to the committees for honoring her impact."

As she prepares for the WNBA draft next Monday, Rasheed has been focused on playing and keeping in shape, working on what is in her control, as well as deciding on potential agents. She attended a pro combine in New Orleans last week, which also hosted professional scouts and agents. While she hopes to be invited to team tryouts in the United States, she has remained humble throughout the entire process and says she would appreciate any opportunity to play professional basketball.

“It’s so competitive [in the States, and] there aren’t a lot of spots offered and not a lot of teams, so anywhere I get the opportunity I would be happy, honestly,” Rasheed said. “I can’t be greedy; I’m not in that position.”

Although she now downplays her chances of getting drafted, Rasheed ended her Princeton career with 1,617 points, the fourth-best total in program history, and is fifth in the record books in both scoring average and field goals with 16.7 and 604, respectively. She is also third in rebounds with 860 total, despite missing the second half of her sophomore season due to injury. Rasheed concluded the 2012-13 season with seven Ivy League Player of the Week honors, the second most in league history for a player in a single season, and she has racked up three first team All Ivy selections and two unanimous Ivy League Player of the Year awards. She was also the 2010 Ivy League Rookie of the Year and a recipient of the WBCA Division I Coaches’ All America Honorable Mention this year.

Given the short WNBA season, Rasheed will look to play overseas regardless of what happens with in the draft. However, in the past few months she has been named on the Nasimith and State Farm watch lists, among others, indicating there is a chance that an American team will take her. The WNBA draft will take place on Monday, April 15 at 8 p.m.